>just raised the tax burden of everyone else -- sonwhy shouldn't their extra tax payments also be tax deductible? It leads to absurdity. It has been born out i

>just raised the tax burden of everyone else -- sonwhy shouldn't their extra tax payments also be tax deductible? It leads to absurdity. It has been born out in practice that these extra tax payments are not deductible. Few people would expect this to be the case, either. The absurdity does not exist. This is not an intellectually honest argument. >Especially considering that many tax-deductible "charities" are actually people getting together to pay each other money for personal services (for example: schools, churches, and hobby associations) Private schools provide an alternative means of educating children when one does not trust the culture or capabilities of the local public schools. Taxing them would reduce their prevalence and would worsen the burden on private parents whose economic activity already supports both public (through property tax, etc) and private schools. Churches provide moral support to communities, organize deeds of service, and are generally a force for exercising virtue. I say this as an athiest. Some bad churches exist, but taxing churches would be throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Tax-free hobby organizations are a little less defensible, but it is worth considering that they are limited in scope by law (https://cullinanelaw.com/501c7-social-and-recreational-organizations-how-to-stay-tax-exempt/ https://cullinanelaw.com/501c7-social-and-recreational-organ...). But it is worth considering that making it cheaper to fund hobby organizations makes it easier to participate in the sort of activities that we enjoy, and that improve our physical and mental health. We are already living in a society where we spend every dollar we make, and we still feel lonely and isolated nonetheless. Encouraging these outlets, with their socialization and tight focus on community, is a force for good.